


Bitten

by wordswehavesaid



Series: Tumblr prompts [5]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Established Relationship, Hurt Barry, M/M, mentioned Thea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-01
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-29 11:20:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5125556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordswehavesaid/pseuds/wordswehavesaid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver tends to his partner after he's hurt trying to help clear out the old Arrow Cave</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bitten

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PuppetRhymes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuppetRhymes/gifts).



“Oliver, I’ll be fine, you don’t have to carry me. I heal fast, remember?” Barry is doing his best to look and sound perfectly at ease, but he doesn’t miss the twinge of pain that crosses the younger man’s face before he clutches his bitten hand closer to himself. “And I still gotta catch the snake.”

“You mean the rattlesnake that just bit you?” He gives a short laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “I don’t think so.”

“It just got scared cause Thea shot at it, I can do it this time, really.”

“Barry I know enough about rattlesnakes to know you shouldn’t be moving around after you’re bitten by one.” He says, and adds over the other’s continued protests, “Please don’t argue.”

Whether or not it’s for Oliver’s sake, Barry seems to realize it’s time to give in, the speedster turning his face into his chest slightly as he hugs him tighter to make it up the narrow steps of the Verdant’s basement.

Thea had been having a look around the space, trying to decide what to do with it now that it was no longer functioning as their base when she’d come across the snake that he could only assume had snuck in to find somewhere quiet and cool to sleep in. She’d called him and since Barry had been spending the day with Oliver, he’d volunteered to pitch in citing something about a reptile camp he’d gone to as a kid.

Things had been going alright. Barry had been moving slow, not wanting to startle the thing with his speed. Oliver and Thea had been watching on the steps, his hands curled tight around the railing only able to watch as his partner played snake-charmer. He hadn’t been paying enough attention to his sister, hadn’t noticed her go for her bow when the reptile had started rattling its tail in warning.

Her shot wouldn’t have missed if the snake hadn’t sprung out of the way, straight towards a surprised Barry, who hadn’t been able to move before it sunk teeth into his wrist. Then the snake had dropped and slithered off for the opposite side of the room just as a red and yellow blur had crashed into the bottom of the stairs, clearly a disoriented attempt on Barry’s part to make a run for it.

Oliver’s gotten them up into the thankfully empty club now, and he makes his way to one of the booths, laying Barry down. Thea is on the phone trying to get Caitlin over as soon as possible, so for now he sits with the younger man’s head in his lap, combing a soothing hand through his hair. He’s pretty sure he’s supposed to be keeping Barry calm, which the other man’s doing fine on his own, but beyond that…he’s lucky he got away from the island without having to deal with a similar situation, but it doesn’t help him now. He feels useless.

“Is there anything we’re supposed to be doing?”

“Um, I have to keep the bite below my heart to reduce the venom flow there - I mean, I think it’s going through my system faster cause of my heart-rate, though.” His eyes flit up to Oliver’s and some understanding seems to light in them. “You can wash the bite with soap and water, then put some dressing on it. That’ll make it hurt less.”

His nervous energy seems to dissipate into clarity having been given a mission. “I’ll grab the first aid kit and check in with Thea. You gonna be ok waiting here?”

Barry smiles, perfectly assured. “Yeah, it’s already feeling better. I’ll be fine. Oh, but Oliver?” He adds just as he’s about to slide out from the booth. He raises an eyebrow. “You guys will get the rattlesnake out to a better habitat, right? You won’t kill it? Please?”

Part of him wants to growl in annoyance and anger at the reminder of the thing that dared to strike out against this man he holds so dear - but Barry’s right, it’s an innocent creature that’s likely very alone and very scared. So he breathes in once, takes his partner’s uninjured hand and presses a kiss to the knuckles.

“I’ll call in an expert,” he promises. “And you’re not it.”

“Fine,” Barry laughs, squeezing his hand once before letting it go. “Just lose the worried look, alright? I’ve gotten worse from you before, you know.”

“That’s different,” he dismisses easily. “I was completely in control of the situation.”

“Right, cause you  _love_  to be in control, don’t you, Mr. Queen?” Barry remarks with a knowing smirk.

His stomach swoops and Oliver licks his lips. “First aid kit,” he says, more to himself than Barry, then finally does extricate himself from the booth. “Be right back.”

His partner’s laughter follows him all the way back to the bar, which he really shouldn’t encourage. Barry’s supposed to be staying calm.

Caitlin’s able to verify a short while later that things really are fine with the speedster’s systems; the small amount of venom the rattler was able to inject wasn’t anything a little bed rest couldn’t cure.

He leaves a message with a snake removal expert and then takes the younger man home to follow the doctor’s instructions. Bed rest is  _definitely_  a situation Oliver is willing and able to control.

**Author's Note:**

> No I will not stop trying to work reptile camp into everything. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
